fmAutoMate: Power clipboard

[mrwatson-de]

fmAutoMate can certainly improve the UX when transferring multiple objects/snippets via the clipboard

fmPasteMate already has a multi clipboard functionality, but integration directly into fmAutoMate would possibly improve the usability and productivity.

Idea 1: fmAutoMate Clipboard bundle

The fmAutoMate Clipboard bundle can contain multiple clipboard snippets.

Clipboard contents can be added to the fmAutoMate Clipboard bundle.

When pasting back from the fmAutoMate Clipboard bundle what object type gets pasted is chosen automatically.

Note

1. The easiest way to achieve this would be if it were possible to place multiple clipboard flavours on the clipboard. Like this the selection of the most favourable clipboard type would be automatic, as this is already what paste function does.
   • this of course will need an extension to the NBS plug-in set clipboard function; a keep clipboard flag?
2. An alternative would require the fmAutoMate paste function to know exactly what is in focus in order to choose the target clipboard flavour correctly.
   • While fmAutoMate may be able to recognise if it's in the script Workspace or database definition dialog, it cannot currently detect where the focus is within that area.
   • Thus fmAutoMate would not know whether to paste a script, a step or a script name/a table, a field or a comment text.
3. A third possibility would be to present all elements in the bundle in a chooser dialogue, sorted into best match based on where we are approximately in the GUI. For example: – in the script Workspace the order would be
   1. Steps
   2. Scripts
   3. Text
      • in Layout Mode:
   4. Layout objects
   5. Text
      • in the database definition dialog:
   6. Fields
   7. Tables
   8. Text

[mrwatson-de]

MBS has added a function to place different data types on the Clipboard.

Now fmAutoMate needs a function to ADD to the clipboard.

I imagine extended shortcuts +x and +c would suffice.

See Clipboard.AddText